


After the Fall

by badcaseofcasey



Category: Captain America (2011), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Steve flies of the handle, Tony is a bad patient, Tony is an idiot who tried to give a missile a bear hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-25
Updated: 2012-08-25
Packaged: 2017-11-12 21:04:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badcaseofcasey/pseuds/badcaseofcasey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Tony falls from the sky, he's hurt, but doesn't tell anyone; but Steve's been paying what is maybe a little too much attention to Tony lately.<br/>Also, Steve is a worrywart and Tony is a horrible patient.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This just kind of happened because of the UST in the scene after Tony wakes up, that never got touched on again... Hope you enjoy it! Un-betaed, so all the mistakes are mine!

Steve had seen a lot in his life. Hell, he’d fought in one of the bloodiest wars in history. But nothing had every scared him as much as the sight of Iron Man in freefall, hurtling towards the very solid and unyielding ground.

When Tony had latched onto the missile, Steve thought it was a suicide mission. A one-way trip. No one could survive that, surely. But this was Tony’s choice, and you had to allow a man the dignity of his choice.

Except Tony _did_ survive, and Steve felt more relived than he could ever remember. He may have only known Tony for less than a week, but the man already meant more to him than he maybe should.

They clashed at first, but then Tony had risked his life to stop the helicarrier from crashing and killing everyone on board, and Steve had felt a sudden swell of respect for Tony. He may have said before that Tony only fought for himself, and that was still sort of true- he was on the helicarrier he stopped from crashing- but he has a fancy suit of armor that could have saved him from a freefall, followed by what was sure to be a fiery crash.

And Steve… Steve had almost allowed him to be pulled into the turbine and chopped to bits like ice in a blender.

He’d only been given one job- pull the red lever; but he’d allowed himself to be moved from his position and that had almost cost Tony his life.

After that, Steve had this _need_ to protect Tony, to make up for almost killing him earlier. (Or, at least, that was what he was telling himself. It was much too worrying to face the facts that maybe he was just protective of Tony to begin with.)

So when he realized that although Tony had made it back to Earth safely, he wasn’t showing any indication of slowing his free fall, the relief turned into panic faster than he could register what that might mean.

“He’s not slowing down.” Thor said.

Steve vaguely registered Mjolnir twirling in the air next to Thor, as if he was ready to fly towards Tony, to catch him, but Steve knew he wouldn’t make it in time. The suit was falling too fast- even the god of thunder couldn’t get there in time.

Steve was frozen to the spot. His throat was too tight for him to even speak as he watched in horror as the suit plummeted towards the ground, Tony turning head over heels, completely out of control. Steve was completely helpless. He couldn’t fly like Tony, so he couldn’t catch Tony in the air. Trying to catch Tony before he hit the ground was just asking to be crushed under tons of metal and weaponry and that wouldn’t help anyone.

Steve’s heart tightened in his chest. There was nothing he could do. Tony was going to-

A loud roar pierced through Steve’s shock and then Hulk was flying through the air, straight at Tony, catching him in mid air and using the nearest high rise to slow their descent.

Steve breathed out heavily. Tony hadn’t crashed; he would be okay. Still, he ran over to where Hulk had laid Tony out on his back as fast as he could go, heart pounding in his chest, his panic not quite gone.

He needed to see Tony, to see that he was okay. He had to feel Tony’s warm skin under his fingertips before he could really believe that Tony had made it back alive.

When he got within 10 feet of Tony, the panic returned full force for the 3rd time that day. How many times would he have to deal with contemplating losing Tony, for good?

“The reactor’s not lit.” Steve muttered to himself.

He’d read Tony’s file, his curiosity over Howard’s son too strong to ignore, and he knew the reactor didn’t just power the suit. It was all that was keeping shrapnel away from Tony’s heart. What if-?

Steve quickened his pace, Thor at his side and kneeled beside Tony’s still form.

_Please, don’t be dead. Don't be dead. I only just found you. I can’t watch another friend die. I won’t._

Thor ripped the faceplate from the suit, circuitry framing Tony’s face, and Steve leaned down to see if he was breathing.

There was no rush of warm air against his ear. No reassuring sound of steady breathing.

Tony wasn’t breathing.

He pulled away and looked down at Tony. He’d lost soldiers before. He’d lost best friends before, but this felt… different. This didn’t just feel like losing your best friend, your confidant. This felt like he was losing something he could never replace, like a part of him was dying along with Tony.

It felt like it should have been him lying motionless on the ground instead of Tony.

Steve could feel tears building behind his eyes and willed them away. He had to stay focused. Loki was still out there- Tony had stopped the alien army, but Loki was still here. He had to be strong, to lead the team.

Then, Hulk let out a roar that shook the ground beneath them and the arc reactor lit up.

Tony gasped for air, his eyes opening wide, as if in surprise that he was still alive.

And then, it was like nothing had happened. Tony started cracking jokes, and talking about something called a shawarma that seemed like it could be edible and it was as if Tony hadn’t just fell from a height taller than the Empire State Building.

But Steve still couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d dodged a bullet. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins and he could feel the dull throb of almost losing something you care about deeply in the back of his mind. He was more relieved than he’d been when he stepped out of the chamber and realized the serum had worked. He felt like the most important thing in the world was almost taken away from him.

He would deal with what that meant later.

***

After they apprehended Loki (which turned out to be easier than expected) and tried the shawarma place Tony wanted to go to (which, it turned out, was edible and quite tasty), Steve had forced Tony to go see the SHIELD medics.

“You almost died. You can’t just walk away from that.”

Steve had to get patched up as well, the wound on his torso not quite healing as fast as he was used to. The serum probably wasn’t formulated for alien weapons.

But Tony, it turned out, was worse off than he let on.

The suit had gotten very beat up with all the damage done during the fight and Tony hadn’t quite had the time to fix it up completely after the turbine incident, meaning it was harder for it to protect Tony.

When Hulk had caught him, the suit had pressed hard enough against his chest that a rib had broken and he was bleeding internally. There was only about an hour and a half between when Tony was injured and when he got to the doctors, but it was still bad enough that he had to be rushed into surgery and put under anesthetic.

This was the first time Steve had seen someone treated with modern technology. The different monitors and tubes coming out of Tony were intimidating and Steve couldn’t watch from the window anymore. He went and sat in the waiting room and waited until a doctor came out to tell him Tony was awake.

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor came out to get Steve and take him to the room where Tony was recovering. Steve walked into the hospital room and walked softly over to Tony, looking at him and trying to gauge if he was okay.

Tony’s eyes weren’t open and he was breathing deeply, seemingly asleep. He looked so peaceful; Steve couldn’t bear to wake him up. He took the chair that was next to Tony’s bed.

He could wait.

|~|

“Tony?”

Tony opened his eyes to blinding white light and promptly closed them again. “Not now. ‘M sleeping in, JARVIS.”

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” Whoever was talking, who certainly _wasn’t_ JARVIS, let out a sigh of relief.

Tony tried opening his eyes again, this time to come face to face with an anxious-looking Captain America, uniform disheveled and dusty, but still almost obnoxiously patriotic.

“Hey, Cap.” Tony said weakly, his voice coming out raspier than intended. He tried to sit up, but felt a solid, but gentle, pressure on his shoulder, guiding him back down.

“No, don’t try to get up.” Steve said.

“God, what happened to me?” Tony said, looking around. Beeping. Heart rate monitors. Hospital. “Why am I in the hospital?”

“Loki. The thing with the missile, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tony said. “That. But-”

Tony bolted up right, or, well, he would’ve, but a super-soldier was still holding him down.

“Where are the others? Did we close the portal?”

Steve smiled slightly. “The doctor said you might take a bit to get re-oriented. Everyone’s fine. Some a little battered, but no one as bad as you. You didn’t feel that you’d broken a rib?”

“Meh, it happens sometimes.” Tony said. “Figured if it was too bad, JARVIS would’ve let me know.”

“Your suit was out of power, Tony.”

“My phone does full diagnostics.”

“And JARVIS didn’t tell you about the internal bleeding?”

Tony looked down at his hands. “Maybe he did, and I just ignored it.”

“Tony.” Steve admonished.

“Hey, I’m all right, aren’t I?”

Steve sighed and looked down at his hands. “What were you thinking, Tony?”

“Oh, no, I know that voice.” Tony said. “It’s one of Pep’s favorites.”

“She has to yell at you for foolishly risking your life a lot?” Steve said, looking back up at Tony and raising an eyebrow. It would figure- he was Howard’s son.

Tony tilted his head to the side, considering. “Yeah, actually.”

Steve’s face sobered. “You have to stop doing that.”

“Cap, I saved Manhattan.” Tony reminded him, as if he could have forgotten.

“By almost killing yourself.” Steve shot back. “We could have found another way.”

“There was no time.” Tony said, furrowing his brow. Why was Steve so upset about this? He barely knew Tony and he was, all of a sudden, sitting at his bedside, acting like he truly cared. “I did what needed to be done.”

“No, you did what you _wanted_ to do.” Steve said, voice harsh, his eyes cold, but with caring behind it.

“That’s rich, coming from you.” Tony said, because what right does he have to judge Tony, or to act like he really cares. He doesn’t really care. He couldn’t. Tony rolled his shoulder to break out of Steve’s grasp. Steve could’ve held him down, but he apparently realized that Tony didn’t want to be touched at that moment, so he let him go. “You crashed a whole goddamn plane, with you still inside it, to save the world.”

“That was different.” Steve said his expression growing dark, eyes losing their warmth.

“How? Tell me how that was any different.” Tony spat.

He really didn’t know how they kept doing this. He didn’t mean to fight with Steve. He didn’t try and do anything to annoy him. He actually tried to do quite the opposite, which was new for him. It was rare that he tried so hard not to piss someone off. But, after Cap saved his life with the turbine, he felt he kind of owed it to him.

Steve stiffened, his back straightening into what Tony called his “Soldier Stance”. It meant he was pissed, and it meant he was done being nice. Tony had struck a nerve.

“I had no other option. I was on my own on that plane- no one was within a hundred miles. You had a team right there with you. You didn’t have to do it alone.”

Tony’s expression softened slightly, only to become agitated once more. “Yeah, well, haven’t you heard? I don’t play well with others.”

“You got that right.” Steve said, his tone bitter and cold- something Tony hadn’t thought he was capable of. He’d heard Steve scolding and angry, biting and challenging, but never this harsh.

Steve wasn’t trying to sugar coat this- not one bit. Tony needed to hear what he had to say, needed to know that he wasn’t alone anymore. He had a team that was there to help him, to prevent him from having to do what Steve had to do. He had people who wanted him to come back home safe and sound and were right there with him to make sure that happened. He had people who cared. He had _Steve_.

“Did you even stop to think of what your actions would do to everyone else?”

“Yes!” Tony said, raising his voice and sitting up now that Steve’s hand was off his shoulder. “I figured I’d save the millions of people in Manhattan.”

“What about Pepper?” Steve said. “She’s been worried sick. She has the right to know you’re safe.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Tony said, throwing his hands up. He was almost yelling now. “We were friends long before you came around, Captain Holier Than Thou. Don’t tell me how she feels, like you understand.”

“I may not understand you and Pepper, but I know what friendship is like. I know what it’s like to be worried about someone you care for when they put their life on the line unnecessarily.” Steve said, stern and authoritative. “And what about the team? We only just got together and really started working as a team, and you were going to just check out? We already lost Phil, and that brought us together, but who’s to say losing you wouldn’t pull us apart?”

“You’d be fine without me.” Tony said sourly. “I’m not exactly a team player.”

“No, we wouldn’t.” Steve yelled, jumping to his feet. “You hold this team together as much as anyone else. If it hadn’t been for you, Banner would never have shown up and we probably would have all been killed. You can’t just _decide_ we don’t need you, because we do, all right?”

A nurse peeked her head in the door, looking upset. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down. Mr. Stark needs rest. If you can’t calm down, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“It’s all right.” Tony said, glaring at Steve. “He was just leaving.”

Steve huffed, squared his shoulders and walked out of the room, smiling weakly at the nurse on his way out, before turning to say one last thing.

“You’re a part of the team, Tony, and you’re not expendable. We’d never be half as good as we are now if we didn’t have you fighting along side us.”

And fuck if that didn’t hit Tony like a freight train.

|~|

The next day, Happy called Steve to tell him Tony was being released from the hospital. Tony had asked for Happy to come and pick him up, but Steve convinced Happy that he could take care of it and he needn’t worry.

Steve had to apologize to Tony for his behavior the previous afternoon, and he wasn’t sure Tony would spend any time around him unless he was forced to. Steve left the hospital yesterday and immediately felt guilty- Tony had been hurt, after having risked his life to save them, and the island of Manhattan, and Steve had just yelled at him about how reckless he was. He didn’t even say thank you.

So, he asked JARVIS which of Tony’s cars would be best to take to the hospital so that Tony wouldn’t murder him. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to take someone who’d just had surgery home on his motorcycle.

Now, he was leaning very gently against what was probably the most expensive car he’d ever driven (and this wasn’t even Tony’s most expensive one), parked outside the hospital and waiting for Tony to be wheeled out, if he hadn’t fought them on that, too.

When he saw Tony in the wheelchair, he couldn’t help but smile. The nurse pushing him along looked like she was trying hard to seem pleasant, but was incredibly tempted to tilt the chair just that tiny bit forward and dump Tony out on his ass. Steve could sympathize.

Steve pushed off the car and walked over, still smiling.

Tony was obviously upset about being subjected to the wheelchair, and his mood certainly didn’t improve when he saw Steve walking up to him.

“Happy, you lost weight.” he said drily. “And is the car broken? You had to take one from the garage?”

Steve ignored him and smiled at the nurse. “Thank you for putting up with him. I can take it from here.” he said kindly.

“Good luck.” she said, smiling at Steve and rolling her eyes before turning to Tony. “You stay healthy, Mr. Stark. Our staff might not be able to handle you next time.”

Tony just grumbled something that sounded offensive.

“He means thank you.” Steve said apologetically. “He’s just upset that you made him ride in the wheel chair.” He waved before offering a hand to Tony to help him to the car.

“I'm not a little old lady you have to help cross the street, you overgrown Boy Scout.” Tony said, ignoring Steve’s outstretched hand in favor of getting up on his own. “And I’m driving.”

He walked towards the car and Steve jogged to catch up.

“Tony, you’re still recovering. Let me drive you. You just relax.”

“It’s my car, Steve.” he said, reaching for the driver-side door, looking at Steve expectantly.

“Tony, please.” Steve said pleadingly. “Let me take care of you.”

Something in his tone or expression must have gotten to Tony because his resolve seemed to crumble and he smiled weakly. “Okay.”

Tony walked around the car and Steve followed, opening the door for him and closing it once Tony was safely inside.

He got in the car and started driving. Cars might be a little different now, but they still functioned almost the exact same way. Steve wouldn’t be winning any races anytime soon, but he could at least get around New York when he needed to.

“You know, the year I got into the super soldier program, your dad had a floating car at the Expo. He said in a few years, cars wouldn’t even have to touch the ground.”

Tony scoffed and shook his head. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he made a promise and didn’t follow through.”

Steve immediately knew that was the wrong thing to say. Tony’s relationship with his father wasn’t something they’d talked about, but he’d heard it wasn’t all that great. He decided small talk wasn’t the way to go- talking had never been his strong suit, but around Tony, it was almost impossible to say something without starting an argument.

“Look, I just wanted to apologize.” he blurted out, eyes fixed on the road to try and avoid seeing Tony’s reactions to his words. Better to get straight to the point and get it over with. “For yesterday, I mean.”

“Don’t worry about it, Cap.” Tony said, looking out the front windshield. As bad as Steve was at apologies, Tony was even worse at accepting them.

“No, it was rude of me and I shouldn’t have yelled. I was just scared. I asked you before if the reason Phil’s death affected you so much was because it was the first time you lost a soldier. It would hardly the first time fore me, but for some reason, almost losing you really shook me up. I was so scared I’d lose you that I lost it and yelled at you, and I'm sorry.”

Tony cleared his throat and looked down at his hands, the dashboard- anywhere but at Steve. “Wow, Cap, that’s very sweet of you.” he said drily. “But you would’ve been fine with out me.”

“Tony.” Steve said warningly and gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Stop saying that. Stop acting like you’re expendable.”

“Why?” Tony said. “I’m not what matters in the fight- it’s the suit. Without the suit, what am I? I remember you asking pretty much the exact same thing.”

“Tony, I didn’t know you when I said that. I’d never seen you in action, not really. The power isn’t in the suit- it comes from you. If you put someone else in the suit, it wouldn’t be anywhere close to the same. You said that you **are** the suit- I saw the newsreels. You may have only been grandstanding, but it’s the truth. Without you, the suit means nothing.”

Steve glanced over at Tony for the first time since he started apologizing. He was still staring at the dashboard, his expression unreadable. Steve still wasn’t quite sure how one was meant to deal with Tony Stark. He supposed he could ask Pepper- she seemed to have gotten it down to a science.

Tony didn’t speak for the rest of the drive, and Steve didn’t push him. Tony talks a lot, almost constantly, but when he was quiet, it wasn’t wise to try and make him speak. Tony is a genius, and with that comes a little bit of eccentricity as well. So, Steve could wait. He could give Tony the time he needs to process everything, examine all the variables in the equation and work out his answer.

|~|

It had been raining lightly all morning, and by the time they got back to Avenger’s mansion, it had turned into a full-blown storm.

Steve pulled up the driveway and was reaching for the garage door opener when Tony’s hand shot up and wrapped around his wrist. It was silent for a second, save for the pounding of the rain on the roof of the car, then Tony spoke.

“I’m sorry, too.” he said quietly. “And don’t expect me to say it again, because that’s all you’re getting. I’m just- I’m not used to someone caring for me like you say you do.”

“Tony.” Steve said sadly. “I don’t just say I care for you. I sincerely care for your safety and well-being. I know we got started on the wrong foot, but I bet we could be really close friends if we gave each other a chance, and I don’t want to lose that before I ever get a chance to have it.”

“Wow.” Tony said. “Imagine- Tony Stark and Captain America, BFFs. The media would never believe it.”

“BFF?”

Tony smiled indulgently. “You’re a doll. Really, you are. BFF stands for best friends forever. It’s a preteen sort of thing to say.”

“Well, I mean, it might be a naïve concept, but I do think we could become very close friends for quite a while.” Steve said, looking sheepishly down at his hands.

Tony seemed to think very carefully over his next statement, as if he couldn’t decide whether or not he should say it.

“Do you think… I mean, I don’t want to offend your delicate 1940s sensibilities, but… is friends all you could see us being?”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up and he whipped around to stare at Tony, eyes wide. “What?”

“I mean, if you’re not, um, into that sort of thing. Men, I mean, um…” Tony was stumbling over his words and Steve smiled slightly.

“What about Pepper?”

“She came by after you left.” Tony said, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “She said it was too much stress and she would rather we just stay friends.”

“That’s- oh, Tony, I’m so sorry.” Steve said. “That’s awful. And in the hospital, too.”

Tony shrugged and attempted a sad smile. “I knew it would happen sometime. She and I… we were like that saying, you know? The brightest flame burn quickest and all that.”

Steve searched Tony’s face to try and see what he should say. It was always hard with Tony- you could never tell if he was being sincere. But this time… there was something in Tony’s face that was very open and vulnerable. He’d never seen Tony lose his composed façade of eloquence and charm and it was intriguing and endearing to see. Steve decided to take pity on him.

“Tony, would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime?” Steve said, nervous despite himself.

He couldn’t deny that he’d never thought of Tony in a romantic way before. Before being frozen, he hadn’t had any experiences with any other guy- well, he hadn’t had much experience at all, really. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about it, on more than one occasion. And Tony was smart, and funny and not at all unattractive. Even when they were fighting at the beginning, Steve had been entranced by the way Tony spoke.

“Cap, are you feeling okay?” Tony asked, looking confused and surprised.

“Tony, don’t be so shocked- there were gay men in my time. They just weren’t as open about it because they couldn’t be. Two of my closest friends in the army were in a relationship with each other throughout almost the entire war. And there’s something between you and I; you must see that or you wouldn’t have asked. So… dinner? How ‘bout it?”

Tony smiled. “You never cease to amaze.” He shook his head and smiled almost lovingly at Steve. “Dinner sounds amazing.”

Steve beamed over at Tony, incredibly happy at the turn the conversation had taken. This wasn’t something he’d ever expected he’d be able to have. He’d thought about it, when he was alone and no one was around to ask him what he was thinking of, but never really thought it could be a reality. Tony seemed to exclusively like women, and while Steve knew Tony flirted with anyone and everyone, he never thought that would translate into an actual relationship.

Tony interrupted Steve’s thoughts by putting a hand on his cheek and tilting Steve’s mouth closer to his own. “You’re adorable.”

And with that, Tony was kissing him, lips light against Steve’s, but insistent, with a passion that was seemingly barely contained. His lips were warm and comforting, and Steve felt for the first time since he saw him falling out of the sky that Tony was truly safe. He was there, he was alive and he was _kissing Steve_.

And Steve felt like the luckiest guy in the world.


End file.
